I think that this trend of decreasing funding for science research will only continue unless some fundamental changes are made to the system.
For one, the government is becoming increasingly weak while corporations are becoming increasingly powerful.
Unlike the government, corporations in general (and their investment strategies) are focused on short term results - That's how executive pay/bonuses are structured - CEOs don't want to invest in something that will only bear fruit in 10 years so that some future CEO will get all the credit for it. Humans are terrible at allocating credit/praise because we like to pretend that the universe is simple and that all actions have simple, predictable effects without unexpected side-effects.
Science research cannot exist in a corporate environment. Science can only rely on government or philanthropy.
For one, the government is becoming increasingly weak while corporations are becoming increasingly powerful.
Unlike the government, corporations in general (and their investment strategies) are focused on short term results - That's how executive pay/bonuses are structured - CEOs don't want to invest in something that will only bear fruit in 10 years so that some future CEO will get all the credit for it. Humans are terrible at allocating credit/praise because we like to pretend that the universe is simple and that all actions have simple, predictable effects without unexpected side-effects.
Science research cannot exist in a corporate environment. Science can only rely on government or philanthropy.